


Kitties and Cream

by the_chaotic_lesbian



Series: band au [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Band Fic, Cat Cafés, Cats, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Room, like a lot of cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25429456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_chaotic_lesbian/pseuds/the_chaotic_lesbian
Summary: The cafe is her pride and joy, honestly. She had always dreamed of being a cat mom, adopting as many as she could so she could sing to them. She never imagined it would be as good as this, though, running a place where people can come and cuddle with cats and drink coffee and eat sweets.Ashe had been a sweetheart to suggest it, really. It was his bakery before it was the cafe, his apartment. Annette had shared her dreams of adopting two dozen cats, and Ashe had immediately converted the entire place. Now, he still bakes pastries for the cafe, and Annette makes coffee, and they have other workers, but it is theirs.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ashe and Annette own a cat cafe together, but they're not dating, even when everybody else seems to assume otherwise.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert, Caspar von Bergliez/Claude von Riegan, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Linhardt von Hevring, Ferdinand von Aegir/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Mercedes von Martritz, Minor or Background Relationship(s), other pairings are background - Relationship
Series: band au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841893
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	Kitties and Cream

**Author's Note:**

> My month-long project! This was written for a rare pair exchange in one of my discord servers, and i had SO much fun writing it. Technically, this is just a facet of a bigger au, but! ashe and annette are very cute together. 
> 
> https://twitter.com/beargoofs/status/1285657230944149504?s=20 beary, my lovely partner in crime, drew art for the fic too, as part of the exchange! Go check it out! 
> 
> And thanks to my lovely friend Pepper for betaing this!

Annette’s week goes like this:

On Monday, she wakes up first. Ashe is snoring softly in bed beside her, curled on his side. He doesn’t so much as stir when she sits up, stretching her arms and slides out of bed. It’s early, six in the morning. Far earlier than she wants to be awake, but somebody’s gotta open the cafe, and on Mondays, that’s her job. 

She changes quickly, tying her hair back in a loose ponytail and covering her modest t-shirt and jeans with a pink apron. Steps back into the single bedroom to spare one last glance at Ashe, still slumbering away, and smiles. 

At 6:30, she’s unlocking the cafe door for the morning shift workers to come in. She steps to the side, where the adoption room is, and unlocks that too, stepping in to greet all her babies. Loog, Ashe’s favorite, stubbornly stays in place, staring at her with eyes she swears are narrowed. Pepper, the sleek yellow tabby, weaves around her legs affectionately. Biz and Bob - siblings - immediately launch themselves into the cafe, chasing each other around. Mars simply stares at her, waiting. For what, she doesn’t know. 

“Good morning, dearies!” She sings, skipping over to the cupboard where they keep the food. “Are you hungry?” 

The cafe is her pride and joy, honestly. She had always dreamed of being a cat mom, adopting as many as she could so she could sing to them. She never imagined it would be as good as  _ this,  _ though, running a place where people can come and cuddle with cats and drink coffee and eat sweets. 

Ashe had been a sweetheart to suggest it, really. It was his bakery before it was the cafe, his apartment. Annette had shared her dreams of adopting two dozen cats, and Ashe had immediately converted the entire place. Now, he still bakes pastries for the cafe, and Annette makes coffee, and they have other workers, but it is  _ theirs.  _

Annette opens the cafe at 7am, and she hangs around coaxing the cats to come out and play with the customers. Some of them, like Ky and Katie, are overly affectionate and give her no problems. Others, like Dilo and Pepper, are shy, and take a lot of coaxing to come out of the room. 

She loves them all, nonetheless. 

Around noon, Ashe comes down to join her, and they take a lunch break together. Typically, this involves going out somewhere, to another cafe or a restaurant. Ashe asks about how the morning’s gone and Annette asks if he slept well. Casual conversation, but it’s so pleasant.

After that, they switch. Ashe takes over the cafe. Annette goes upstairs, bakes dinner, cleans. This is her break, although it doesn’t feel that way. 

Once Ashe closes, the two of them sit down for dinner and eat. It’s quiet, with Annette usually doing the logistics on her computer and Ashe reading a book. It’s no matter, though, because then they can put on a movie, and cuddle on the couch until one of them is too tired. Rinse, repeat. 

The rest of the week is much the same. Sometimes, she goes to volunteer at the orphanage, to sing for them and give them treats. Sometimes, she heads to the shelter to see if there are any new cats needing a home. When a cat spends more than a month in the shelter, Annette will take them to the cafe in hopes that someone will adopt them there. It’s a good deal, and she’s just glad to be saving them. 

But for the most part, that is her life. And she loves it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh Annie!” Mercedes claps her hands together, her smile bright and far too endearing for what Annette just told her. “That’s so cute! I can’t believe you managed to find someone so perfect for you.”

“We’re just moving in together,” Annette frowns, “nothing worth mentioning.” 

“But you’re dating now, are you not?” Mercedes is still smiling, knowingly, “I can’t wait to tell Ingrid, though I’m sure she already knows, so we can go on double dates together!” 

And that sends a pang in Annette’s chest, and she shakes her head. “Mercie, we’re not dating.” 

“You’re not?” And now Mercedes looks confused, head tilted, “Annie, darling, you’re moving in with him, you own a business with him, and you two go on dates by yourself all the time. You two are more couple-y than me and Ingrid are.” 

_ Not like Ingrid will ever admit that she’s dating you,  _ Annette thinks bitterly, but she merely chuckles dryly. “I know it’s weird, Mercie, but really, Ashe and I are just good friends.”

But Mercedes still has that knowing smile, and she just closes her eyes, laughing a little. “If you say so, Annie.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you  _ mean  _ you’re not coming to our get-together?” 

Ashe glances up at her as she all but shouts into her phone. He’s been buried in his book for a bit too long now, not that Annette really minds. It’s cute, honestly, how much he loves reading. One of their many common interests.

On the other side of the phone, Felix huffs, and she can just picture his frown. 

“ _ Your cats attack me every time I come,”  _ he says, and he sounds so annoyed she can almost believe that he’s exasperated. “ _ That black one won’t leave me alone.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ “‘That black one’ is named Mars, and she loves you, and if you just gave her some attention you’d see that she’s a sweetheart.” Annette sighs, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Come on, Fe, it’s not that bad. You have to come! Please?” 

There’s a pause. Annette holds her breath, tapping her foot against the ground.  _ Come on Felix.  _

“ _...Okay. But I’m bringing Linhardt _ .” 

Oh goddess. 

“Do you have to?” She whines, pointedly looking away from Ashe and his little pout. She keeps forgetting that she has Felix on speaker, and also that Ashe is friends with  _ him.  _

“ _ He’s my boyfriend, Annette. If I’m being dragged to your get together, I’m bringing him with me. You can scream at him all you want, I don’t care.”  _ There’s a fondness in Felix’s voice when he talks about  _ him,  _ it drives her nuts. 

Annette huffs, and Ashe is still giving her that pout, and under that pressure, it’s not like she can say no. “Fine. He can come.” She hangs up before Felix can reply, frustrated. 

“Is Linhardt really that bad?” Ashe stretches his arms above his head with a yawn, his hair falling into his face. “Caspar really likes him.”   
  


Annette falls onto the couch, shakes her head. “Every time I see his face, I remember finding him asleep in the library and it just makes me  _ so  _ mad. He’s so…  _ so _ …” She balls her fists, releases them. 

Hands curl around her own, and she glances down at tanned skin, glances up at a freckled face, green eyes sparkling. It’s a sight that nearly takes her breath away. 

“It’s okay, Annie,” Ashe says, and he’s smiling so sweetly, Annette forgets that she was frustrated. “I do think you should give him more of a chance, but it’s okay if you don’t.” And dear lord, he’s so kind, she’s almost jealous. 

And it’s enough to make her sigh, nod. “Okay fine. I’ll give him a chance. For you.” 

Ashe beams at her, and Annette smiles. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow, Annette,” Sylvain steps into the cafe, scanning the room. “This is really cute. It suits you.” 

“Oh, do shut up, Sylvain,” Annette rubs her sinuses, straightening up the chairs. Sydney jumps onto the table she’s at, staring at Sylvain. She doesn’t do anything, just stares, and Annette ignores it, moving on to the next chair. 

“I’m wounded!” Sylvain clutches at his chest dramatically. Sydney mirrors it, sitting upright with her paw on her chest. It’s infuriatingly adorable. Annette’s upset. 

“About?” She stands upright, fixes her sleeves. The cafe needs to be perfect for her get-together later, which is why Sylvain is here. 

“That you think so little of me.” Sylvain moves, scratching Sydney on the head. She purrs. Annette drags her gaze off of the scene, moving to the counter. “I know I’m a bit of a flirt, but even I’m not so shameless as to hit on a taken woman.” 

Annette freezes. “Taken? I’m not taken.” Her back is to Sylvain, which is probably a good thing, so he can’t see the flush on her cheeks and make fun of her for it.

“You’re not?” 

_ Goddess help me.  _

She shakes her head, still not facing Sylvain. “No, I am not. For the last time, Ashe and I are just. Friends.” She punctuates each word, sucking in a breath. “And no, that doesn’t mean that you can hit on me. Please.”   
  
“I wouldn’t,” and Sylvain sounds oddly sincere. Annette finally turns around, and he’s got Sydney in his arms, stroking her back. He looks happy and content, and Annette smiles fondly. 

“I will adopt your cat though. Seriously, can I have her?”    
  


“I don’t think Felix and Ingrid will approve.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annette wakes on a lazy Saturday morning with a yawn. It’s the weekend, she can relax if she wants to. Except she’s never been one for relaxing, not really. Even now, as she sits up in bed, there’s an itch to get out and do something, even though Saturdays are her days off. 

Maybe she’ll go over to Hilda’s? There’s always something to do at Hilda’s apartment. Even if she had broken a vase last time she was there… whatever. Hilda is fun to talk to, anyways, always willing to show her new hairstyles and makeup tricks she’s learned. It’ll be nice to have a girls night sometime, Annette muses. 

She stretches her arms above her head, yawning again. Yesterday had been downright exhausting. The get-together had been successful, with all of their friends sitting around drinking tea and coffee and chatting. Annette hadn’t realized how much she enjoyed hosting until then, when she flitted from group to group, offering refills and pastries. 

Felix,Sylvain and Ingrid spent the gathering seated at one table. Mars was curled up in Felix’s lap and he was begrudgingly petting her; though really, Annette didn’t think he minded it as much as he proclaimed to. Sydney, too, was in Sylvain’s lap, but he was happily giving her little head scratches. It was adorable. Ingrid had teasingly commented on the way both boys had their own little pets, only for Felix to retort that at least his pet was laying in his lap and not attacking him. And it was true - Bear, one of the more affectionately obnoxious cats, had taken to scratching at Ingrid’s legs when she wasn’t with Mercedes. It was odd. 

Felix kept stealing glances at Linhardt, who had, as promised, been dragged to the gathering. Annette wouldn’t have paid him any mind, except he had a mountain of cats napping on him in one of the bean bag chairs and it would be amazingly adorable if she didn’t dislike Linhardt so much. Still, she gazes at him - and it’s unfair that he’s so pretty, with his hair loose around the chair - with Pepper and Bizzy and Maru curled up against him, all fast asleep.  _ Rude cats. Don’t you know that he’s a terrible person?  _

Mercedes sits with Dedue and Dimitri, comparing recipes. Annette used to be a disaster in the kitchen before she took lessons with Mercedes, in the interest of working at Ashe’s bakery, before they opened the cafe together. Dedue owned his own restaurant, with Dimitri as a co-owner, and Annette’s glad that they have something to talk about. Mercedes has Ally in her lap, and the cat seems happily content in her lap. 

Hilda, Claude, Caspar, and Ashe were all together. Caspar and Ashe were debating about some video game that they both enjoyed - Annette hadn’t stayed long enough to hear which one - while Hilda and Claude chatted, catching up with each other. Every so often, Caspar would lean into Claude’s side, Claude’s arm wrapped around him. Annette thinks Caspar is adorable, she was so happy to find out that he and Claude were dating. Especially when she had thought he was dating Linhardt for the longest time, and that was a relationship she would never approve of. 

All in all, it was very successful, but Annette is  _ tired.  _ Tired and - she pulls out her phone, blearily unlocking it - it’s already noon. 

_ It’s already noon?  _

Annette yelps, leaping out of bed. She slips against her covers, hardly catches herself with her hands, and just about sprints to the door. 

It’s not like she really has a place to  _ be  _ today, but there’s chores to do, she was supposed to make breakfast and she’s  _ never  _ slept in so badly before. Why didn’t Ashe wake her up? It’s so out of character for him to not follow their perfectly-made routine and she throws the door open prepared to tell him as much. 

Except the sight she sees takes her breath away. 

Ashe has a bandana tied around his forehead and a duster in his hand. The entire apartment smells of cleaner, which is the chores that  _ she  _ was supposed to do, and she stands at the doorframe gaping. 

He’s humming one of her songs - words too faint to hear, but she recognizes the tune, of course she recognizes the tune! - wearing an oversized t-shirt that was a gift from Dedue and a pair of leggings, moving around the apartment with a grace she was once envious of. 

And then he turns, spying her. The sunlight streaming in from the open window catches the silver of his hair and the green of his eyes and highlights his freckles, and he smiles, bright and pure, and Annette sucks in a breath. 

_ Fuck.  _

Is she blushing? She thinks she’s blushing. How long has she lived with Ashe now? And she’s only realizing how downright beautiful he is? 

She blames Sylvain. 

“Annette!” And even his voice, in this new light, is startlingly light and gorgeous. Annette’s definitely blushing now, hearing her name in that voice. What’s wrong with her? 

He must not notice anything’s wrong, though, because he turns back to his cleaning with a hum, completely oblivious to her staring. It’s weird. 

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” She demands instead, forcing down the blush to smooth down her pajama shirt that she hadn’t bothered changing out of. Ashe sees her in her pjs all the time, but now she just feels embarrassed. 

Ashe hums again, placing the duster down on the coffee table. “You worked really hard yesterday to get things running smoothly. I thought you deserved the rest!” And then he smiles at her again, with all the warmth of the sunshine glowing behind him. “Don’t worry, Annie. I can handle things. I’ll call Hilda over if you refuse to rest.” 

It’s a threat, but Ashe says it so cheerily, Annette can’t help but sigh. “Okay, okay, fine. Don’t call Hilda, it’s okay.” She turns back to the bedroom, shuts the door behind her, sinks against it. 

She’s in love with Ashe. 

_ Fuck.  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ “I feel so sorry for all the kitties,” Ashe sighs, as they walk out of the shelter. “So many of them could be adopted if people only knew how adorable they are.”  _

_ “We should do something about that!” Annette agrees, and he glances over at her curiously. She’s swinging the basket in her hands, and she meets his gaze easily, smiling all the while. _

_ “Well, what do you suggest?” Ashe sounds confused and hopeful at the same time, blinking at her with wide eyes. Putting her on the spot like that is normally enough to make her flustered, but she’s been thinking about this for longer than she’d care to admit. _

_ “Well… what if we opened a cat cafe?”  _

_ “That’s a great idea!” Ashe beams at her. “You’re so smart, Annette.” She flushes a bright red at the compliment, ducking her gaze down at her feet.  _

_ “Oh, it’s nothing,” she says, modestly. “Just an idea. I mean, you do have that fancy business degree.”  _

_ “I do.”  _

_ “And you know how to cook, so it would be like… the best of both worlds!”  _

_ “You don’t have to convince me, Annie, I’m sold.”  _

_ Green eyes meet ocean blue, and they both smile. _

_ “Let’s do it.”  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Isn’t this exciting!” Caspar pumps his fist into the air, eyes practically glowing in the dim lighting. “Man, I still can’t believe I get to come to their concerts. For free!” 

“Yes, yes, we know,” Linhardt yawns, and Annette glares at him for how dismissive his tone is. Doesn’t he know how to be a good friend and at least  _ sound  _ interested? “I’m beginning to think you’re more grateful for my relationship than I am.” 

“What?” Caspar shakes his head, “no way, Lin. But it is pretty cool.” He cups his hands together, holds them to his mouth. “My best friend is-!” 

Linhardt shuts him up with a hand slapped over his mouth, his cheeks flushed red. “Caspar,  _ please. _ ” 

Ashe chuckles, and Annette tears her attention off of them to glance at her… friend. Is friend even the right word? She’s not sure anymore. 

“Come on, Annie,” he says, fondly, “you gotta admit, this is cool.” 

She sighs. “Yeah, it is.” They’re still waiting for the concert to actually start. It had been nice of Ingrid to invite them, and then Linhardt had scored them all free tickets and he had rather graciously given them to her and Ashe. It’s probably the one time in her life that she will ever thank him for something. 

“It’s like I told you,” Ashe glances over at Caspar and Linhardt, who are now playfully bickering in tones that Annette can’t quite pick up, with a smile on his face, “you just have to give him a chance, honestly. He’s really sweet when you get to know him.” 

“Is he?” Annette goes back to watching Caspar and Linhardt interact. Caspar has an arm wrapped around Linhardt now, and is babbling about… some game? She only vaguely recognizes it from when Ashe had the game himself, before game nights firmly became a “Caspar only” thing. Linhardt probably has as much interest as Annette herself does, but still he listens, offering a murmured praise every so often. 

And… okay, yeah, it’s sweet. Not quite as heartless as she was expecting him to be. Annette grits her teeth and falls against Ashe’s arm with a groan. “I don’t want to like him,” she complains, even as Ashe tucks his arm around her shoulder, rubs his thumb into her collarbone, and she releases a pleasant groan. 

“You don’t have to like him,” he says softly, a low murmur that sends shivers down Annette’s spine, “but don’t hate him based on misconception.” 

And saints, when he put it like that… Annette sighs again, leaning her head against Ashe’s shoulder. “Okay, fine,” she mumbles. 

They don’t get to talk much after that, as the lights go off and the band steps onto the stage. Ingrid looks so cute, and Felix, Sylvain and Dimitri all wear the same punk outfit, and Annie squeals. She may not know them as well as she probably should, but Ashe is watching Ingrid in awe, and Caspar cheers loudly from his seat, and even Linhardt looks smugly proud, eyes on Felix. 

And Ingrid is pouring her heart out on the stage, wailing about a love gone wrong, a lover who never treated her right, and Annette sneaks a glance at Ashe. He’s so obviously enthralled in the show, eyes wide and adoring, and she smiles. 

_ I think I’m in love with him.  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ “Are you sure I’m okay to come along, Mercie?”  _

_ Mercedes’s hands in her hair pause, and she gives one of her quiet chuckles - the one that always makes Annette feel silly, like she had asked a stupid question or tripped over her own feet again. “Of course you are, Annie. Why would you ask?”  _

_ “Well…” Annette trails off, hesitant. Her hands twist together in her lap, and she tilts her gaze up to stare at her reflection in the mirror. She had applied her own makeup with a light hand, and now Mercedes is twisting a braid into her hair, something to look different than her normal hair loops. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Mercie, but this feels like… well, a date.”  _

_ “Oh!” Mercedes laughs, and then she resumes braiding, “don’t you worry, dear. Ingrid’s friend is coming along as well, so it isn’t as if you’re interrupting anything.” And her face is obscured by Annette’s hair in the mirror, but Annette has a sneaking suspicion that she has that knowing smile on her face.  _

_ “Okay, if you say so.”  _

_ Hair finished, Mercedes offers her a hand so they can stand up. Mercedes is wearing a ruffled tank top with a plain cardigan and jeans - a mom outfit, she’d jokingly call it, knowing that she was the mom friend of any group she was in - which almost makes Annette feel overdressed in her sundress and shawl.  _

_ “Where are we going again?”  _

_ “This new cafe that just opened up,” Mercedes grabs for her keys, takes Annette’s hand so they can walk out to her minivan, “oh, you’re going to love it, Annie! They sell coffee and tea and sandwiches and cake, but also they have a really nice sized library. It looked absolutely divine on the website.”  _

_ “That does sound really cool,” Annette admits, climbing into the passenger seat. She’s nervous. Not to meet Ingrid, she’s heard so much about her from Mercedes that she isn’t worried in the slightest. But she knows nothing about this friend that Ingrid’s invited along, and that’s… nerve wracking.  _

_ They listen to Ingrid’s band the entire way there - Annette will admit that they have good music, even if it isn’t quite her style - in silence, and the longer the ride goes on, the more she squirms. How can she trust that Ingrid’s friend will be a good person, if she’s never met Ingrid herself? What if neither of them like her?  _

_ She’s quickly proven wrong.  _

_ The cafe is just as lovely as Mercedes had described, and they arrive first, so Annette has plenty of time to order herself a hot green tea to soothe her nerves and a slice of chocolate cream pie to calm her mind.  _

_ Not long after they had settled at a table, the doorbell chimes, and in comes Ingrid - Annette recognizes her from the many many pictures Mercedes has saved on her phone - and someone else trotting behind her. Annette watches the way Ingrid’s eyes light up upon spying them, a smile coming onto her face. It’s honestly adorable, the way the two are so obliviously in love with each other.  _

_ “Hello, Mercedes,” Ingrid says, once they’re in range. She takes the seat across from Mercedes, and Annette offers her a friendly smile. That means that the boy who had come in with her sits across from Annette, and she takes the time to get a good look at him.  _

_ He has silvery hair, combed to the side in a way that accentuates his more feminine face. His eyes are a lovely shade of green - like sunlight reflecting off of a grassy meadow - that, combined with the freckles dotting his nose and cheeks, helps to give him a more youthful look. He’s pretty, and Annette glances away to look at Mercedes instead before he can catch her staring.  _

_ “Hello, my valkyrie,” Mercedes greets, her tone warm, “was the drive okay?”  _

_ “About as well as it could be, you know the traffic from downtown is horrible.” Ingrid sighs, rubs the bridge of her nose, “Felix is talking about moving out just so he doesn’t have to drive in downtown traffic anymore, and honestly, I don’t blame him.” Her seafoam green eyes shift off of Mercedes to peer curiously at Annette now, head tilted.  _

_ “Oh!” Mercedes laughs sheepishly, “right. Ingrid, this is Annette.” Her smile is warm, and Annette gives Ingrid a friendly wave. It’s returned, though perhaps a bit more hesitantly.  _

_ “It’s nice to officially meet you!” She says, as friendly as she can muster.  _

_ “Likewise,” Ingrid says, and her gaze shifts again. “Mercie, Annette, this is Ashe, my high school friend.”  _

_ “It’s very nice to meet you both,” Ashe says, and Annette glances at him again.  _

_ Before anybody has another chance to say anything, though, the food that she and Mercedes had ordered comes in, a quiet waitress delivering it to their table. Tea and pie for Annette, a hot cup of hot chocolate for Mercie, and a steaming cup of coffee for Ingrid. Ashe hadn’t gotten anything, since neither one of them had known his tastes, and Annette feels a pang of guilt for not waiting and asking.  _

_ “What did you order?” Ashe leans over to look at her pie, as Annette carefully sips at her tea with a sigh. He sounds genuinely curious, green eyes wide and sparkling in the lighting.  _

_ “Chocolate cream pie and green tea,” she says, and then the next words come out of her mouth before she thinks of them, “do you want to taste a bite?”  _

_ His eyes widen even more, and he smiles, “I’d love to! Thank you so much for offering.” He takes the fork from her and delicately picks off a piece, tasting it. “Oh, that’s wonderful. It reminds me of a dish at the bakery I work at.”  _

_ “You work at a bakery?”  _

_ He nods, eagerly, hands pressed against the top of the table, “Sweetie Pies, it’s a little bit outside of downtown.” His smile turns sheepish, as though he were embarrassed. “Once I finish my major, I plan on starting my own… something. I’m not sure yet.”  _

_ “Oh that’s so neat!” Annette leans forward, tea forgotten, “I’m a business major, so I know what you mean about wanting to own something. I was wanting to start my own orphanage, but now I’m not so sure.”  _

_ “An orphanage, huh?” And there’s something in Ashe’s gaze that wasn’t there before. Admiration? Awe? Annette can’t tell, and it makes her shift in her seat. “That’s really neat! Honest.” _

_ “You think so?” She flushes. “Thank you, Ashe.”  _

_ There’s a pause, with the only sound being the hushed chatter from Mercedes and Ingrid next to them. And then Ashe stands, offering his hand to her. _

_ “Want to go check out the books?”  _

_ Annette accepts the hand and allows Ashe to pull her to her feet.  _

_ “I’d love to.”  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Welcome to Kitties and Cream!” Annette greets, her back to the door. 

“Ah, you must be Annette!” Greets a voice that’s only slightly unfamiliar. She turns, curious. The shop’s been rather slow today, full of unfamiliar customers, and she’d been right about to take a break and play with her kitties. A few of them had been adopted yesterday, and she liked to cuddle with them after adoption. 

Except clearly, this stranger knows her, and that sets her off just a little. She tilts her head up and to the side and offers an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?” 

The man tilts his head as well and he blinks, and then tosses his ginger-colored hair back with a hearty laugh. “My apologies! I’ve heard so much about you, you see.” He steps closer, offers a hand. “My name is Ferdinand Aegir. I’m one of Ashe’s friends!” 

“Really?”  _ He talks about me?  _ Annette takes his hand, allows him to shake it. 

“Would you like me to get Ashe for you, then?” She asks, despite the lump in her throat at the thought of Ashe having this… this friend of his that she’s never even heard of. Surely he would’ve told her, right? 

“Ah, do not worry a bit!” One of the cats - Bizzy, Annette thinks - begins to nudge against his foot, and Ferdinand releases a gasp, bending down to stroke the cat’s fur with an excited squeal. “Ashe and I had a meeting time, but I am rather early. Please, do not mind me!” 

“Oh,” Annette says, dumbly, and she turns back to what she had been working on. It was another song, though she had started and restarted the verses over and over again. She’s never had this much difficulty writing before, even if she had spent the past several months only using Ashe’s poetry as inspiration. 

“Ferdinand!” Ashe must’ve come down when she wasn’t paying attention, and Annette startles, presses her palm against her notebook at the counter reflexively, and in her haste, sends it flying across the cafe floor. 

“Oh goddess!” She clambers after the notebook, ears burning red, as Ashe stares at her and Ferdinand ignores her in favor of playing with Bizzy. 

“Everything okay, Annie?” 

Annette hits her hands on the ground, tucks her notebook under her lap, sighs when Pepper wreaths around her arms and rubs her head against her skin. Pepper is rewarded with a scratch to the head, as Annette nods, sits upright. “I’m fine, Ashe! Please, continue with your… meeting.” 

And now that she’s on the floor, with Pepper curled up in her lap and Mars peeking her head out curiously, she has the perfect reason to sit here and listen. 

“Oh, yes,” Ashe laughs, a sheepish sound, and she smiles as he walks over to the counter. Ferdinand is still paying attention mostly only to the cat he now has in his arms. “Terribly sorry about the wait, Ferdinand. You weren’t here long?” 

“Oh, not at all, Ashe!” Ferdinand assures, “I have not been here for long at all. This is such a cute little place you have!” 

“It’s pretty nice, huh?” Ashe is smiling, Annette can tell just from the sound of his voice. “To be honest, I never pictured myself owning a cafe, but I think I like it a lot.” 

“Well, I am happy for you, my friend!” Ferdinand cheers. “Oh, are you not the cutest kitty in the world? Ashe, I may have to adopt him.” 

“Well, Annette handles most of the paperwork, so you’ll have to talk about that with her.” Annette turns her attention back to Pepper in her lap, cheeks flushing red. She is… not sure how she feels about this conversation, since Ferdinand doesn’t really appear to have any need to be here. 

Well, to be bluntly honest, it makes her feel… weird. 

Jealousy is horrible sometimes, she thinks. 

Annette picks herself up, taking her notebook and Pepper with her, and takes a seat at one of the tables. Customers flit in and out, but nobody bothers her, so she has all the time she needs to scribble down lyrics, only half paying attention to the conversation going on across the cafe. 

She’s  _ never  _ had such a hard time coming up with song lyrics before. It’s a weird feeling. Then again, most of her songs were silly things that she came up with at the top of her head, without any actual meaning. And now she’s trying to write a love song?

Well, she’s never backed down from a challenge. 

She only tunes back into the conversation whenever she hears her name again, in Ashe’s soft lovely voice. 

“...Annette are going pretty well!” Ashe is blushing whenever she glances up at him, curiously. “But enough about me, how is Sylvain?” 

Sylvain? 

“Oh, it is simply horrible, Ashe!” Ferdinand moans, takes a sip of the tea that Ashe must’ve gotten for him. “I swear I have done everything I can possibly think of, and yet he still just smiles and tells me I am such a good friend. A friend!” 

That sounds familiar. 

The jealousy that had overwhelmed her just minutes ago dissipates, because suddenly everything slots into place. Ferdinand coming here to complain about his love life… well, she doesn’t know Ferdinand very well, but she knows Ashe enough to know that he has the patience of a saint and the best advice.

(She does make a mental note to talk to Sylvain about him though, because really, she didn’t know that Sylvain  _ had  _ other friends outside his band group.) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Take  _ that _ , you jackass!” 

“Caspar,  _ please,  _ settle down.” 

The sounds of the tv are loud and overwhelming, especially whenever Annette’s sitting at the kitchen table with her notebook in front of her. Perhaps it’s a little risky to write her “I am totally in love with you” song in such a public setting, but Ashe isn’t paying any sort of attention to her. 

She writes something down, scratches it out. In her lap, Pepper purrs: Annette decided she wanted to keep her, Ashe didn’t say no. 

“Need help with something?” 

Annette nearly jumps out of her chair and spins her head to glare at Linhardt. The last time she had seen him, he was asleep on the couch; he must’ve snuck up on her without her noticing. 

“It’s none of your business,” she says, and she turns her attention back to her notebook. Hmm… she’s gotten all the words written, but she’s never had to  _ plan out  _ a  _ melody line.  _

She’s expecting Linhardt to walk away, as he’s done in the past. She’s never known him to be helpful, even if he is unbearably nosy. 

He does not walk away. 

“I know I’m no expert,” he says, with a yawn, “but I must say, it’s really much easier if you just tell him.” 

“I can’t just  _ tell  _ him, not with-” Annette throws a hand over her mouth, her cheeks flushing, “-wait. Wait, what?” 

Linhardt chuckles, a dry sound that almost sounds mocking if Annette hasn’t heard his  _ actual  _ mocking laugh, “isn’t it rather obvious? I mean, I’m not the best at feelings, but Felix thinks the world of you and your relationship with Ashe. I’ve been trying to understand it.” 

“It’s not obvious!” Annette protests, and then flinches, glancing over at where Ashe and Caspar are still happily engaged in… whatever they’re playing. Ashe’s tongue is sticking out of his mouth in concentration, and it’s adorable, and she can’t help but smile fondly. 

“...Uh huh.” 

When she glances back up at him, Linhardt has some sort of smile on his face, his eyes sparkling with mirth. It’s an unusual look for him, one that Annette has never seen before. 

“Why are you acting like this?” She asks, gesturing to the way he looks so… teasing, leaning down so that the height difference between them isn’t nearly so great. “I’ve been  _ horrible  _ to you.” 

Linhardt shrugs. “Most people are,” he says, casually, “I’m used to it, quite honestly. Most people don’t like me.” 

“And you’re just… okay with that?” 

“Well, what can I do about it?” Linhardt flicks a lock of hair out of his face, yawns. “Tell me, Annette, if I had tried gaining your favor, would it work? You seemed pretty determined to hate me.” 

“I…” Annette swallows, thinking about it. It’s true, she had been so quick to hate Linhardt that if he had tried to be nice to her, she would’ve brushed it off as false flattery. “...You’re right. The only reason I let Ashe persuade me into giving you a chance is because…”

“Because you like him,” that teasing smile is back, and Annette scowls. 

“Don’t say it so loud!” It’s not like she can deny it anymore, anyways. Yes, she likes Ashe. Yes, she believes it is totally unfair that they can live together and go out together and sleep together in the same bed but she can’t kiss his cute freckled face. The thought of saying as much out loud, though, is frightening, and she stares down at her notebook. 

“Trust me, neither one of them are paying attention,” Linhardt says, humorously, and he yawns. “But honestly, everybody already thinks that you two  _ are  _ dating. Felix included. Ashe invited us over once and Felix declined because he didn’t want to double date.” 

“He did?” Annette knows that she’s blushing, can feel the heat in her cheeks. “That… what?”

“Mm.” Linhardt glances at the notebook, and his lips quirk into another one of those weird smiles of his. “Oh, this is adorable.” 

“Shut up!” Annette pouts. “Just because I don’t hate you anymore doesn’t mean you can… can just… do this!” She vaguely gestures in front of her, at him and at her notebook.

“I’m just telling the truth.” Linhardt shrugs again, and then he straightens, hovering over her. It would be intimidating if Annette hasn’t known the man for years, even if most of that time has been spent hating his guts. “I’m going to take another nap. But please, Annette, do us all a favor and make a move already.”

Before Annette has time to protest - though she tries and fails, sputtering miserably - he’s sauntering away, back to the couch. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ “Look at it!”  _

_ They had done amazingly well, Annette thinks, staring at the building. Ashe had hired some company to remodel the place, so now a sign hangs in front of it, the windows brightened to display a menu and a list of all the cats that the local shelter will be providing them.  _

_ “It’s so cute,” she says, smiling. “I can’t wait to introduce people to your recipes and all the cute kitties.”  _

_ “This was such a good idea,” Ashe says, and he’s smiling too. “The moving company’s already got the apartment looking nice, too. All we have to do is move in!”  _

_ It was nice to be out of her uncle’s house, Annette would be forever grateful to Ashe for letting her move in with him, here. Even if they would be sharing a room, it was still better than the house she had grown up in, wondering why her father had left her behind. She would never heal there, and hopefully this would be a step in the right direction.  _

_ “Well then what are we waiting for?” She steps forward, opens the door to their brand new cafe. “After you.” _ _   
_ _   
_ __ “I thought I was the chivalrous one?” Ashe is pouting, but he’s still unable to keep the smile off of his face, and he steps through the building. “Shall we, Annie?” 

_ “We shall.” She takes his hand, and they walk in, together.  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To say that Annette is nervous is an understatement. 

Ashe is closing the cafe tonight, and she’s taken advantage of his absence to tune her guitar; she hasn’t used it in years, but her fingers remember the chords, and though she normally sings without music, tonight requires something special. 

It feels silly, sitting on the couch, her guitar clumsily in her hands, running chords over and over and over again. Already, the tips of her fingers ache something fierce, but she can’t give up now. Not whenever she finally has the courage. 

“Annie, I’m home!” The door opening had completely escaped her attention, and Annette straightens, stops playing. 

“Oh… welcome home, Ashe!” She greets, her voice betraying her nervousness with the smallest waver. He doesn’t seem to notice. 

“Are you picking up the guitar again?” Ashe hangs his set of keys up by the door, hanging up his apron beside it. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard you play it, you sound wonderful!” 

Oh goddess, this was difficult. 

“Well, I wanted to…” Annette trails off, swallows thickly. “I wrote something. And I wanted to play it for you?” This was a mistake, but what can she do now? 

“Oh?” Ashe blinks, and then beams. “Sure! I love your singing, Annette.” He takes a seat on the opposite end of the couch, curling his legs into his chest and giving her wide eyes. 

“Okay,” Annette says, and she sucks in a breath.  _ I can do this. I can do this.  _

She plucks out D-major, allowing it to steady her. If she forgets that she’s performing for Ashe, her crush, she can definitely play her song. 

“If we fall in love tonight,

Won’t run away, won’t run away,

Could you hold me for tonight?

Keep me safe, keep me sane, 

Cause I’m drowning here alone, 

I’m falling on my own, 

So let’s fall in love tonight, 

Cause I need you by my side.” 

By the time she finishes, fingers aching, her voice has stopped wavering. Singing has always come naturally to her, after all, and once she forgets her troubles, it’s the most natural thing in the world. 

“Oh Annette, that was beautiful,” Ashe breathes, and that’s when she remembers that she’s not alone. “Did you write that for someone?” 

Here’s the moment of truth. Annette takes a breath, smiles. “I wrote it for you.” 

“For… me?” Ashe blinks, and then his eyes widen. “Annette-” 

“I love you,” she blurts, setting her guitar aside. “I think I have for awhile? And just didn’t realize it? But then all my friends started asking me for relationship advice, and I realized…” she swallows, “that I’m in love with you, Ashe.” 

For a moment, she is amazingly, overwhelmingly terrified, because Ashe doesn’t say anything, he just stares at her. She has to avert her gaze, if only because otherwise she would start sobbing. 

“...I thought we were already dating?” 

Well, that’s not what she thought she was going to hear.

“What?” Annette whips her head around to stare at him, cheeks flushed red. “What do you  _ mean,  _ you thought we were already dating?” 

“Annie, we  _ live  _ together,” Ashe has a sheepish smile on his face, and he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, “you asked if we could move in together, and I thought… I thought you were asking me out then!” 

“But we don’t… we haven’t even kissed!” 

“I was going to wait for you to make the first move!” He laughs, sounding nervous. “I thought… well, I didn’t want to move too fast, so I was just going to let you do it. And then you never did, so I thought that maybe you didn’t want to?” 

The couch is small, so it is very, very easy for Annette to shift, closing the space between them and pressing a kiss to his lips. It’s not very long, just long enough that she can taste the flavor of his favorite tea that he always drinks in the evening and smell the sugar and chocolate from the pastries on his breath. 

“We’re such idiots,” she says whenever she pulls away, grinning at how red Ashe’s cheeks are now. “I can’t believe I was worried about this when you thought we were together this entire time.” 

“Well, at least it was still enjoyable?” Ashe wraps an arm around her waist, supporting her as she leans against his chest. “But so you don’t get confused again… I love you too, Annette.” 

“Good,” she breathes, and laughs, leaning her head against his shoulder. 

“Now, can I kiss you again? To make up for lost time?” 

“Yes. A thousand times yes.” 


End file.
